Alibaba prices Hong Kong listing, appears to increase up to $ 13.8 billion

Alibaba announced the pricing of shares for its upcoming secondary listing in Hong Kong where it could raise up to $ 13.8 billion.

The Chinese e-commerce giant will issue 500 million new ordinary shares plus 75 million "greenerhoe" options. These give the insurance banks the opportunity to sell more shares than the original amount set.

Of these 500 million shares, 1

2.5 million will be reserved for retail investors. Alibaba has the opportunity to increase the portion available to retail investors to 50 million shares or 10% of the total offering.

The company said retail would be priced at no more than 188 Hong Kong dollars (about $ 24.01). [19659002] However, the remaining shares for institutional investors may be priced higher than that.

At 188 Hong Kong dollars per share, the total amount raised will be around $ 13.8 billion if the greenshoe option is exercised.

Alibaba will set the final offer price by November 20 in Hong Kong "taking into account, among other factors, the closing price of the ADSs on the NYSE on or before the last trading date and investor demand during the marketing process."

ADS refers to the company's US listed US depositary shares.

Alibaba & # 39; s Hong Kong shares are expected to start trading on November 26.

Alibaba "plans to use the proceeds from the offering to implement the strategies to drive user growth and engagement, strengthen businesses to facilitate digital transformation, and continue to innovate and invest in the long term."

The Company continues to invest in areas from food delivery to its fast-growing cloud computing business, which is seen as a crucial part of the future.

When the Hangzhou, China-based company went public in 2014, it chose New York over Hong Kong because the latter would not allow double class. These are shares that give different voting rights. But since then, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has reformed its rules to allow two-class share structures.

"When Alibaba Group went public in 2014, we missed Hong Kong with regret. Hong Kong is one of the world's most important financial centers," said Daniel Zhang, CEO and Chairman of Alibaba in a letter to investors.

"In recent years there have been many encouraging reforms in Hong Kong's capital market. During this time of ongoing change, we continue to believe that the future of Hong Kong remains bright. We hope we can contribute in our small way and participate in Hong Kong's future. "

Alibaba's listing in Hong Kong would make it the biggest gathering of the year, ahead of Uber, which raised over $ 8 billion in May. It would also be a huge boost for the Hong Kong market, which has seen business slow in the midst of ongoing protocratic demonstrations, which have escalated in recent days.

Alibaba said that New York will remain the primary listing site. The US listing is still the largest stock exchange listing in history, raising $ 25 billion.

CICC and Credit Suisse are joint sponsors and joint global coordinators for the proposed offer. Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley also act as joint global coordinators.